Learn how to create a budget and stick to it

Does anyone have a good budget format that they are using and feel like it is working?

I checked my current bill online this morning and found that it was just a bit over one third the amount of my last one. I’d cut the bill by two thirds by making a few important changes. No more line-backer charge, no more call forwarding, conscious effort to make no 411 or *69 calls. That and the taxes on those things have made a substantial dent in my bill. It will go back up a bit next month as I had a small credit, but I’m feeling good about this.

So far, I’m saving nearly $200 a month because of my cutbacks. I’m also back to selling on eBay, which is bringing in about $200 – $300 a week. On the downside, my home isn’t worth nearly what I hoped it would be worth, so saving money now is even more imperative.

Friday I spent an hour on the phone with various companies, cutting back my services. One hour, and I cut back enough to save myself almost $60 per month. This is a huge thing for me. But the bottom line here is that I have to sit down and outline all the things I need to do each month, and allot a certain amount of money for them. And I need to look at it from the point of view of someone who may soon be losing the bulk of her income.